I'm on record as having said before in this forum that anyone who thinks they can really judge depth of field through a 35mm camera DOF preview is kidding themselves. Even on my Rolleicord, I rely on the magnifier to check focus on the main subject, and do not attempt to judge DOF visually. DOF scales can only be an indication too, and are nearly useless on most zoom lenses. In practice, if I want or need a particular DOF in a shot, I will set an appropriate aperture and focus a little before or behind the main subject, as needed. Works pretty well all the time!
John Coyle Brisbane, Australia On Monday, November 25, 2002 5:37 AM, Cotty [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] wrote: > >I can't imagine anyone claiming to be remotely professional who don't > >use > >DOF preview. The Z-1p don't have DOF preview when using the AV wheel. > >I > >have no problems setting the aperture on any lens and grossly prefer > >it to > >pokig my eye with my right thumb every time I tried to set the > >aperture > >with the Z-1p's Av wheel. > > Warning: the following statement will start a huge argument, but it's > > about time we had a decent technofight ;-) > > I'm sorry Pal, but I have always believed (and still do) that the > depth of field preview on any camera is a complete and utter waste of time. > If I want to use focus and aperture to achieve wide (or indeed narrow) > depth of field, I certainly wouldn't use the DOF button on a Pentax, Canon > or any camera. I would use the distance scale on the lens. If it didn't > have one I would use tables. > > How anyone would tolerate stopping the lens down to try and see what > the focus is like on the foreground (say) of a poorly-lit, grainy > focussing screen is beyond me. How could anyone possibly see the subtle nuances > of the fringe area between focus and out-of-focus down the viewfinder? > Sure you can start to see the effect, but certainly not for judging DOF to > any extent other than as a minor hint. > > Disclaimer: my method requires that I be very good at estimating > distance. Which I am. > > Anyone care to take up the challenge? I'd love to read your > explanations > in favour of DOF preview. > > Respectfully, > Cheers, > > Cotty >
